Comment of Margaux Salcedo
Spokesperson of former President Joseph Estrada
On Inquirer Editorial 26 December 2008 “Betrayed”
NOT BETRAYAL BUT BRAVERY
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, in its editorial on 26 December, called former President Corazon Aquino’s apology to former President Joseph Estrada for Edsa Dos, “a betrayal of the highest aspirations of the democracy she helped restore in 1986.” The harsh words come from the Inquirer’s belief that Mrs. Aquino “got it completely wrong”: the Inquirer maintains that Edsa Dos was not a mistake because it was “a direct political action triggered by evidence of grave presidential wrongdoing” in order to “(rid) the country’s highest office of the cancer of corruption” and later it was “(justified by) the Sandiganbayan decision finding Estrada guilty of two of four counts of plunder”.
But contrary to the Inquirer’s analysis, Mrs. Aquino does get it right.
It Isn’t About Mrs. Arroyo – It’s About the Rule of Law
Edsa Dos was not a mistake because it brought us Mrs. Arroyo, on this point the Inquirer is right. Edsa Dos was a mistake because it disregarded the foundation on which our democracy stands: the rule of law. Mrs. Arroyo is merely the consequence that we suffer for having thwarted this pillar of democracy.
Edsa Dos was a mistake because it went beyond being an exercise of democracy; it was an abuse of our liberties and a failure of our commitment to democratic processes. Given that every people would desire a ruler with the utmost of morals, a democracy must nevertheless maintain a modicum of order: as John Adams put it, a democracy connotes a government of laws and not of men.
That is why Edsa Dos was a mistake. As Cecilia Munoz Palma, former Justice of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the 1986 Constitutional Commission so aptly stated re Edsa Dos: “The 1987 Constitution suffered … when the ongoing impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada was unceremoniously disrupted and discontinued and the issues on hand were brought to the parliament of the streets. The Rule of Law was set aside and the Rule of Force prevailed.”
And democracies the world over observed that Edsa Dos was “an elitist backlash against a president who had overwhelmingly been elected by the poor. This time, it appears, ”people power” was used not to restore democracy but, momentarily, to supplant it.” (New York Times)
It Isn’t About Mr. Estrada – It’s About the Rule of Law
Neither does the Sandiganbayan ruling convicting former President Joseph Estrada of two counts of plunder justify the thwarting of constitutional processes in 2001. Remember that Mr. Estrada, unlike Mrs. Arroyo today, willingly subjected himself to the impeachment proceedings and was willing to step down had he been found guilty. But instead of following due process, due process was set aside. As the New York Times observed, “The popular uprising took place when it became clear that due process — his impeachment trial in the Senate — would not produce the result many people hoped for: his removal by constitutional means.” The Herald Times even warned of anarchy: “This only confirms the fragility of the political institutions in the Philippines and the likelihood that the streets will become a regular location for political action.”
President Aquino Gets It
Mrs. Aquino’s exact words of apology at the book launch of Congressman Jose de Venecia that has stirred all this controversy were: “I am one of those who plead guilty for the 2001 uprising. Lahat naman tayo nagkakamali. Patawarin mo na lang ako.(We all make mistakes. Please forgive me.)”
Her spokeswoman insists she was joking but at the same time concedes that the statement was sincere, confusing everyone in an attempt to alter the depth and gravity of the statement by the country’s living icon of democracy. The spokesman, to the chagrin of anti-Erap forces, could not take Mrs. Aquino’s words back.
Why? Because Mrs. Aquino knew what she was saying and can confidently stand by her statement. Because Mrs. Aquino was right and had the courage and humility to admit the errors of Edsa Dos.
And that is what what makes Mrs. Aquino a true icon of democracy. While in 2001 she joined the Edsa Dos forces, caught in the string of emotions of the day against then-President Estrada, today she has gained the wisdom to think further of the event and the courage and humility to admit that it was a mistake. Mrs. Aquino has been brave enough to admit that Edsa Dos was a failure of our democratic processes and unlike Edsa I, not an event in Philippine history that we can be proud of.
Mrs. Aquino did not betray the highest aspirations of the democracy she helped restore in 1986 when she apologized to Mr. Estrada for her participation in Edsa Dos. On the contrary, Mrs. Aquino is bravely continuing to fight for the highest aspirations of the democracy she helped restore in 1986: a democracy where constitutional processes are observed as the voice of the people is heard.
